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Thanks [USER=”935″]drtowfigh[/USER] – I forgot to mention that I’ll likely have to drive wherever I end up going, as the person available to go with me can’t fly due to medical issues. So closer is better (probably can only travel about 450 miles per day), but if I can’t find a match anywhere “close”, I need to plan for a longer drive (ick) or find someone else who can travel with me (unlikely).

I’d love to have a tissue repair consult with you or some of the other doctors listed on this site (would be so nice to start at the top!), but for the reasons above am first trying to stay as close to home as reasonably possible. I realize that may not end up being realistic for multiple reasons. Insurance is also a challenge so finances also figure in depending on doctor, etc.

I have indeed seen and noted names of tissue repair doctors on this site, and they’re very helpful. But I hadn’t seen anyone in Michigan as you mentioned, at least not that I recall. Is Shouldice in Toronto who you meant when you mentioned Michigan, or was there a specific doctor or clinic actually in Michigan you were thinking of?

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Thanks for your response, [USER=”935″]drtowfigh[/USER] – I so appreciate that you take the time to respond to this forum on a regular basis!

I’m assuming you are referring above to Paul Szotek in Indiana and David Grischkan in Ohio? Please correct me if I’m wrong on either of those!

I don’t believe I know about any tissue repair hernia specialists in Michigan. Can you tell me who you have in mind?

It looks as though it may also be time to look at enlarging my search area, so any particularly strong recommendations/ experiences anyone may have for highly qualified, experienced inguinal hernia tissue repair surgeons are welcome, regardless of location. Seems like nothing’s ever easy… 🙂

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I too would like to hear more detail about Dr. Grischkan’s results. I had looked at him a while back but was concerned that his website is somewhat contradictory about whether or not he uses mesh (gore-tex?) in repairs, and when I called his office the person on the phone also seemed somewhat non-committal about mesh. As I understand it, the mesh patch would be very small if used at all. I don’t know enough about the technicalities of hernia repair to understand if his modified Shouldice repair is good, bad, or unknown so far as recurrence and chronic pain rates. He claims good results for recurrence, but I’ve not seen his method compared to any other repair type, so don’t know what to make of that. He’s done a ton of hernia repairs using his method, so it seems like there should be more information available someplace. I think I remember reading that he was also very expensive for those without insurance he accepts.

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Interesting and helpful discussion – I really appreciate everyone’s help and Input! I apologize for taking so long to reply. Been busy with family medical issues 🙁

No, I haven’t yet found a surgeon to perform a no-mesh repair on my inguinal hernia, but the urgency is ramping up as my hernia is becoming more symptomatic and increasing somewhat in size. The surgeon decision is made more difficult because I am unable to fly, so will have to drive to wherever the surgeon is located – thus the reason for trying to find a no-mesh hernia specialist as close to Minnesota as possible (which I now realize isn’t likely to happen). Like Red Oak, family responsibilities make it challenging to travel, but it’s important to get to a great surgeon rather than end up with a sub-par repair so I’ll need to make it work somehow.

Thank you [USER=”935″]drtowfigh[/USER] for checking with your contacts at the University of Minnesota hernia center and confirming that they know of no local tissue repair surgeons. If you can’t track down anyone in Minnesota, there probably aren’t any, which confirms what others of us have been finding. It seems that there are multiple good options on the west coast, maybe a few in the southwest, and some in the northeastern U.S., but most other areas seems more or less devoid of no-mesh hernia specialists. Do you know of any qualified surgeons in this “black hole” area?

[USER=”2678″]Red Oak[/USER], how are you getting along? Have you had a chance to talk with Dr. Paul Szotek in Indianapolis? He is close to you and his website says he does no-mesh hernia repairs. It doesn’t say what repair methods (Shouldice, Bassini, Desarda, etc) he uses or how long he’s been doing them. Not sure if he also does mesh repairs so be sure he knows you are wanting no-mesh repair. I think he accepts insurance but also offers a fixed price hernia repair and it appears that he may offer a lifetime guarantee if the repair fails? Interesting. I haven’t been able to find much information about him online, but was wondering if you have learned anything that helped you make a decision either way. There doesn’t seem to be a lot of detail or specifics on his website, but the list of hernia work he apparently does, including recurrent hernias and mesh removal, is pretty lengthy. I’d be interested to find more input on Dr. Szotek and read some of his no-mesh Inguinal hernia repair patients’ experiences and impressions to see if he might be a possibility for me.

Just some thoughts and a bit of an update about my lack of progress so far. I’m still in the thick of things though, so any additional thoughts, suggestions, or other info are appreciated!

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Good intentions – thanks so much for your comments.

I have indeed considered Shouldice, but they appear to be cost-prohibitive. A bit too pricey for us to handle at this point in time. Still trying to find someone in the Midwest someplace that does quality non-mesh hernia repair. Not looking too promising at this point though, unless someone here has names or ideas where to look.

This comment you made:

“Be careful with a doctor who says that they’ll do it if conditions are “ideal”. That just leaves the door wide open for waking up with mesh.”

is exactly what I’m concerned about. The most well-intentioned promises up front aren’t likely to prevent a mesh-leaning surgeon from resorting to a mesh repair if he/she sees something at all suggestive of possible recurrence once they get me opened up. Makes me very skeptical about seeing any surgeon other than one that is quite open and up-front about avoiding mesh repairs, understands the reasons to avoid them, and can demonstrate consistently positive outcomes.

The problem becomes finding such surgeons. To this point I’ve had zero success calling surgeons’ offices and asking questions about preferred repair types, if they offer non-mesh repair, how many hernia repairs they do/have done, outcomes, complications, etc. Staff (including nurses) either truly don’t know what the surgeon does (seems strange not to be able to give prospective patients information that would help “sell their product”), or they don’t want to/are not allowed to give that information out. It makes it very frustrating and very difficult to find surgeons that are experienced and comfortable with non-mesh hernia repair.

So, we’re left posting on forums like this, desperately hoping to get recommendations of non-mesh surgeons others have identified or stumbled onto. Something is wrong with the system – sad.

My appointment with a local hernia surgeon is coming up in a couple of days. I don’t have high expectations but am trying to assemble enough good questions to help me find a good fit. It’s hard to know how much to believe even when asking questions directly to the surgeon. Not that they’re intentionally trying to mislead or deceive, but rather that they likely often have non-existent or incomplete follow-up information on patient satisfaction, complications, or repairs gone bad, and/or they repeat the “mesh as the gold standard” mantra they’ve heard from every direction since med school. In the end hernia repair is really about choice and quality of life for the patient, not about theoretically shaving a percentage point or two off the recurrence rate.

I don’t mean to sound harsh – that’s not my intention. But this issue just shouldn’t be that difficult. Hernia patients need and deserve treatment choices, and realistically speaking we don’t have them in this country anymore. I feel for you surgeons out there who are trying to walk this tightrope and provide what is best for your patients, and I certainly wish more of you would take up the challenge of becoming proficient in and offering your patients non-mesh hernia repair as a viable and readily available option to mesh repair.